All APUSH students should be able to identify and describe characteristics of the 13 British colonies. The Chesapeake – Maryland and Virginia – have many distinct characteristics. The two colonies get their name from the Chesapeake Bay.

Although Jamestown (VA) did not have much economic success in its first few years, both colonies eventually became wealthy by exporting the cash crop tobacco. Most of the settlers were young, white males that came over as indentured servants. As a result, the Chesapeake – as well as the South as a whole – tended to have more male than female settlers from England. (Side note, as a whole, England still sent more men AND women than France and Spain.)

Diseases were more common in the warm climate of the Chesapeake than they were in the New England colonies. As a result, the death rate was higher and extended families were less common.

It was not until the late 17th century, after Bacon’s Rebellion, that the major source of labor switched from indentured servants to African slavery.

Politically, the Virginia House of Burgesses was founded in 1619 in Jamestown and was unusually democratic for its time. This governing body was America’s first representative government. By 1670, voting was limited to property-owning men. As was the case in Colonial America, women were not given the right to vote.

Test Tips

Multiple-Choice and Short Answer:

You MUST know the characteristics of the Chesapeake. Can you describe the social, economic, and political characteristics of this region? Possible multiple-choice answers will likely focus on those characteristics. For example, it’s important to know that the Chesapeake relied on growing tobacco and originally used indentured servants.

Essays:

Potential essay topics could include comparing different regions of the original 13 colonies and comparing the English colonies to other European colonies. Either of those essay topics can include detailed characteristics of the Chesapeake colonies. By the way, Comparison is one of the Historical Thinking Skills that the College Board can assess on the exam.

Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant, profoundly changed the urban landscape of New York City in the late-19th/early 20th centuries. Armed with a camera, Riis exposed many of the horrific living conditions of many poor and immigrant New Yorkers.

His best-selling book, How The Other Half Lives, emphasized the plight of many urban dwellers to mainstream society. As a result of this publication, many of the tenements in New York City were torn down and replaced with better housing.

Indeed, Riis was so well-known that he became quick friends with New York City Police Commissioner and future president Theodore Roosevelt. The two could be seen walking the streets after midnight when Roosevelt was commissioner.

Tips for Riis and the test

Multiple-Choice and Short Answer:

Just as with any document, think about who would agree and disagree with Riis’ views:

Agree – urban poor, immigrants, those that favored the Progressive Era and advocated increased government intervention

Disagree – Those against government regulation

Essays:

Any essay about the Progressive Era could reference Riis and his influential work.

Riis was an instrumental part of the Progressive Era. To review this period, check out this video here:

William Jennings Bryan was a three-time presidential loser. I know, I know, just like Henry Clay. Raised in Nebraska, Bryan became the Democratic and Populist Parties’ nominee at age 36 in 1896. A supporter of farmers, “free silver,” and against imperialism, Bryan was a fixture in politics in the late 19th/early 20th centuries.

Bryan gave his famous “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic Convention in 1896, in which he criticized the Gold standard:

“If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we shall fight them to the uttermost, having behind us the producing masses of the nation and the world. Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

Tips for Bryan and the test:

Multiple-Choice and Short Answer:

Just as with any document, think about who would agree and disagree with Bryan’s views:

Agree – farmers, those that were in debt (the gold standard limited the money supply and made it harder for farmers to pay back their debts)

Disagree – industrialists, bankers, and the wealthy (increasing the money supply would devalue the money that these individuals had)

Essays:

An essay about farmers in the late 19th century should include Bryan and “free silver”

Comparing the responses of farmers and industrialists to industrialization

Bryan was instrumental in the Populist Party. To learn more about this party, check out this video:

William Lloyd Garrison published the weekly abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator from 1831 – 1865. A staunch abolitionist, Garrison sought the immediate and uncompensated (that is, not paying slaveowners for giving up their slaves) end to slavery. He did not favor plans set forth by organizations such as the American Colonization Society, which sought to gradually end slavery. His harsh writings offended some, for which he was unapologetic, as seen in this excerpt from the very first issue of The Liberator in January, 1831:

“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen;—but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—AND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead.”

Tips for Garrison for the test:

Multiple-Choice and Short Answer:

With any document, think about who would agree and disagree with Garrison’s views:

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